Employee Engagement – Meaning and Ways to Enhance it

How do you think an organization runs? With the help of people who contribute in their own way to accomplish tasks and achieve goals of the organization. The individuals who spend their maximum part of the day at the workplace, striving hard to reach to a conclusion benefiting them as well as the organization are called as employees.

In a layman’s language employees are the lifeline of an organization. A human being would die if there is no blood in his body, similarly an organization can’t survive without employees.

Employees are the main assets of the organization and it is really important for them to prioritize their tasks at the workplace. They should think about their company more than anything else.

To extract the best out of each team member, it is important that they enjoy their work and feel attached to the organization. An employee must be committed towards his organization for him to deliver his best and remain motivated.

The employees must be engaged in productive and challenging tasks so that they do not lose their focus and avoid conflicts and unnecessary disputes. An employee must be engaged in his work for maximum output.

What is Employee Engagement ?

Employee engagement refers to a condition where the employees are fully engrossed in their work and are emotionally attached to their organization. One can’t achieve anything unless and until one is serious about it. An employee must be dedicated towards his work and should take it as a challenge. Work should never get monotonous as it would then be a burden for the individual.

Problems arise when individuals have nothing creative to do and sit idle the whole day. They start interfering in each other’s work and tend to become negative for the organization. They start finding reasons to fight with their fellow workers and crib about almost everything.

The employees must be assigned challenging assignments as per their interests and expectations so that they devote their maximum time to work rather than loitering and gossiping around. The team leaders or the managers must ensure to review their team member’s performance on a weekly basis to find out whether they are enjoying their work or not?

An employee must not treat his organization as a mere source of earning money only. An organization is a place where employees go to upgrade their skills and learn something new every day. One must respect and love his job to expect the same. Never talk ill of your organization in front of anyone.

Effective ways to enhance Employee Engagement

• The team leader should understand his members well. Do not assign anything which the employee would not find interesting.

• Effective communication enhances employee engagement. Make sure there is transparency in communication at all levels and everyone is aware of what is happening around him.

• The management must constantly motivate his employees. Cash prizes, trophies, gift vouchers, certificates are an effective way to motivate the employees and keep them engaged in their work. Give them a target and ask them to achieve that within a particular time frame to earn handsome incentives or lucrative prizes. This way, the employees would not waste their time and spend their maximum time working and aiming for the rewards.

• The team leader or the manager must be in constant dialogue with his team members. He should know what his team members are up to. Performance monitoring is important. The team members should be answerable to their immediate bosses.

• Be friendly with your team. Don’t ask them to stay back late unnecessarily. They are likely to commit more mistakes and eventually lose interest in work. Let them go back home on time and enjoy their personal lives as well. Rejuvenation is essential for an individual to remain happy and stress free. More than a strict boss, be a mentor to them and stand by them always.

• Encourage your team members to think out of the box. Ask them do their work in a little different way than they normally do. The employees must put on their thinking caps at workplace and accomplish the task in the most innovative way.

Such activities help the employees to develop a sense of trust and loyalty towards the management and stick to the organization for a longer period of time. They consider the organization’s goals as their goals and thus try to achieve them at any cost. The employees learn to take ownership of their work and do every possible thing which satisfies them as well as the organization.